Spring Fling Fic - Therapy Sessions (1/2)
Day 1
Clark had known going to Lex’s lab that day was a bad idea. The whole day had been bad. He’d woken up late, gotten into the office and promptly been yelled at by both Perry and Lois, had then gone off on a lead with Lois, only to be shot at, and unable to help by the kryptonite the goons had had, and he just should have known going after Lex that day was a bad idea.
But he had gone there and their usual fight had happened. There had been damage, as always, and now Clark had to go to therapy.
With Lex.
Couple’s therapy.
Lex Luthor and Superman had to go to therapy.
The mayor had had enough of their fighting and the damage to city property, never mind that none of that would have happened if Lex would just stop with his plans for world domination, and had gotten a judge to order them to go to counseling for thirty days.
And so now they both sat, Clark dressed as Superman, Lex in his impeccable and distracting suit, across from a therapist who was grinning at the both of them, a professional expression crossing her face as she started to talk.
“Gentlemen,” she said, looking between them. “As you know, the court and the city have ordered you here-”
“This is completely ridiculous,” Lex said, his face blank.
“He’s my arch nemesis, not my … partner,” Clark added, trying not to let the blush cross his face, but knowing it has failed when he saw Lex smirk at him from the corner of his eye.
“As much as it pains me to agree with anything the alien says, he’s right,” Lex said. “We are not a ‘couple’, therefore I do not understand why we need to be in couple’s therapy.”
“You both seem very upset by having to come here,” the therapist, who Clark remembered called herself ‘Ann’, said, looking between the two of them.
“We shouldn’t be here,” Lex said. “It isn’t going to help anything. He thinks I’m evil and I think he’s a dangerous alien who should be killed.”
“You’re right,” Ann said, looking at the both of them, Clark’s gaze flicking to the woman, wondering if she was really agreeing with Lex.
“Which is why I think you should live together,” she added, big grin on her face.
“What!?”
“What?!”
“You can’t make us do that,” Clark spluttered, his heart racing, mind whirling through all the ways that Lex could find out his secret identity if they lived together.
“Actually,” replied Ann. “I kind of can. You’re both on an order by the city and state to undergo treatment and living together is a necessary part of your treatment, at least for the next thirty days.”
“He’ll try to kill me in my sleep!” Clark said, trying to think of a way not to live with Lex without giving away that he actually had a secret identity.
There were theories about Superman, about where he went when he wasn’t rescuing the city or the world. Some people thought he just flew around the globe, rescuing all kinds of people. Others thought he just floated out in space until he heard a cry for help. And some people thought he had a secret identity, that he worked as a cop, or medic, or fireman.
All the theories were fine by Clark, keeping people from knowing that he had a secret identity was another way he kept his friends and family safe.
“Oh, calm down, Farmboy,” Lex muttered.
Freezing, Clark turned slowly towards him, swallowing hard.
“What?” he whispered.
“Now, now, Lex,” Ann said, waving a finger at him. “There’s no need for name calling. That doesn’t help anything.”
Clark couldn’t help but smile at the incredulous look that crossed Lex’s face, their eyes meeting for a brief moment, where both men obviously wondered if their therapist was at all sane, before Lex turned away, Clark seeing the twitch of Lex’s mouth.
His smile quickly fell away as his mind reminded him that Lex had just called him ‘Farmboy’. He swallowed hard, trying not to panic, as he realized that Lex knew exactly who he was.
He wondered how long Lex had known. And also why the other man had never gone after him, as Clark Kent, or his friends and family.
“So,” Ann continued, not noticing the amusement between the two men. “We will have to organize somewhere-”
“That won’t be necessary,” Lex interrupted.
“Lex, we discussed thi-”
“Superman may come and live with me in my penthouse,” Lex replied, his tone conveying how stupid he thought this all was. “I will disable the defense systems that are meant to keep him out.”
“It might be better if the environment is not one either of you-”
“The penthouse has state of the art security,” Lex started. “The press are having a field day with this and I would rather, as I’m sure Superman would, be in an environment where I know that there is absolutely no chance of anyone being able to spy on us. Or at least where I know who and where the spy will be.”
“Not to mention,” he continued, after sending Clark a look that clearly implied that he knew that he was going to be the aforementioned ‘spy’. “That there is easy access for Superman to do his … work, also.”
“I-”
“It’s fine,” Clark interrupted, once again not missing the twitch of Lex’s mouth, wondering if he was an idiot for letting himself go into Lex’s lair.
Ann looked between the two of them, a confused look on her face, before she broke out in a smile.
“Wonderful,” she said. “You’ve already started the steps to having a more healthy and constructive relationship. Agreeing is just one small step.”
Clark couldn’t help but snort, wondering if the therapist had any idea that there was no way he and Lex would ever co-exist.
**
Later that evening, Clark found himself flying to Lex’s penthouse, hovering outside for a few minutes, a strange feeling entering him as he realized that Lex had disabled his kryptonite defense system.
He was later then he had planned to be, both Bruce and Chloe calling him to tell him how crazy he was to agree, firstly to therapy, and then to move in with Lex.
But there was a part of him that wanted the chance to get to know Lex again, to see if he could re-forge their friendship, his heart still hurting when he remembered that he and Lex were enemies, a hollowness in his heart that he hadn’t been able to fill since the day he realized that Lex truly hated him.
Landing on the balcony, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he tried to find the courage to actual walk in the door.
“Are you going to stand here all night, Clark?”
Jerking his head up, Clark felt his heart race as he heard Lex say his name for the first time in years, the racing because of fear and something else that Clark couldn’t quite identify.
His eyes wandered up Lex from his feet, noticing that Lex had changed suits since their therapy session, the grey suit looking softer on him. When his eyes met Lex’s, he saw something flash through them, Lex’s heart skipping a beat, before his calm took over.
“Not going to deny who you are, Clark?” he asked, the question almost a purr.
Quelling the panic, Clark shook his head, a part of him glad that Lex knew, that he wouldn’t have to lie to him further. Although another part wondered if nearly everyone he cared about now was in danger.
“I’ll show you to your room,” Lex said, clearly confused by Clark not denying who he really was.
Following Lex, Clark’s eyes couldn’t help but stray down, his eyes watching the pull of Lex’s pants against his as-
He shook his head, eyes flicking up to just over Lex’s head, a blush spreading lightly over his cheeks as he tried not to think about his previous thoughts.
“I set this room up for you,” Lex said, pushing open the door, turning to look at Clark, his face looking questioning before he turned back and walked into the room.
“Bed, bathroom through their,” Lex said, waving his hand around. “Wardrobe and this door leads to your office.”
Looking around, Clark didn’t miss the navy blue comforter or the dark curtains. He knew that they were new, Lex having previously had purple in the room.
Clark followed as Lex moved into the office, his breath catching a little as he looked around, noticing the chair he had always wanted to buy for his desk at the Daily Planet and a new computer on the desk.
Walking over to the desk, he touched the chair and desk lightly, smile on his face as he turned towards Lex.
“Thank you,” he said, eyes staring intensely into Lex’s.
He hadn’t thought that Lex was going to make the move easy for him, but the man had, almost, maybe, gone out of his way to make Clark feel comfortable.
Maybe Lex wanted a chance to re-forge their friendship too.
The thought stayed with Clark as Lex left him to unpack, the smile remaining on his face as he wondered how to next make a step towards friendship.
Walking out for dinner, Clark had almost convinced himself that Lex wanted the same thing, until he saw dinner, which was all green, with peas through out the meal.
“I thought you’d enjoy it,” Lex said, small smirk on his face as he sat down, Clark glaring at him as he took his seat.
Ann was definitely going to hear about this.
Day 2
“Lex knew that I have a dislike of green, for obvious reasons,” Clark said, inwardly grinning as he saw the sympathetic look on Ann’s face.
“Why did you feel the need to do that, Lex?” Ann asked, turning her eyes on the other man.
Lex shrugged, nothing readable on his face.
“Mrs. Gergen made the meal, Ann,” Lex replied, his face taking on an innocent look. “I had nothing to do with choosing it.”
Snorting, Clark rolled his eyes, looking away.
If Lex hadn’t asked Mrs. Gergen to make that meal specifically, then Clark would eat his cape.
“Now, Lex,” Ann said, a slightly disapproving look on her face. “We all know that isn’t true. Do you want to try again?”
“Maybe it’s because I’m used to trying to kill Kal,” Lex said, shrugging.
“And why do you feel a need to kill Kal?” Ann asked.
Lex looked at her with disbelief, his eyes meeting Clark’s, clearly asking if Clark thought she was crazy as he did, before turning back to the therapist.
“I think my opinions are well known,” he replied.
“Could it also be because you’re also a little hurt by some of Kal’s actions in the past?” Ann asked. “Maybe you feel that you have more of a right to his secrets then others?”
Clark froze, his eyes taking in the therapist, wondering if she knew how close she had come to the mark. Or at least what Clark thought the mark was.
“No,” Lex said, his voice as hard as diamonds. “And this session is over.”
**
Stepping out of the shower, Clark wrapped a towel around his waist, moving out to his room. He and Ann had waited ten minutes for Lex to come back, Ann’s idea, Clark had known he wasn’t going to return, before Ann had told him she’d see them again the same time.
He’d been sidetracked on the way home, a mud slide hitting a small town in India, and so he’d jumped in the shower when he’d gotten home.
Only to walk out and see his room rearranged into bright green colours.
Striding out of his room, holding a towel securely around his waist, he used his x-ray vision to find Lex, storming into the other man’s office, gritting his teeth as he tried not to yell at the man in front of him.
“Why the hell did you have my room changed into bright green colours?” he bit out, pleased with the fact that he hadn’t yelled.
“That was all old … bedding,” Lex said, his eyes running up Clark’s chest when he looked up from the paperwork he’d been intently staring at.
“Bull,” Clark said, cheeks heating as Lex continued to stare at his chest, his eyes slowly moving up to Clark’s eyes.
Clark couldn’t help but swallow hard as Lex got up from his desk, a heat in his eyes that Clark hadn’t seen since Smallville.
“Would it help if I said that I was sorry for the mix up?” Lex purred, Clark trying to ignore the shiver that ran down his spine at the tone, trying to ignore the arousal that was spreading through his belly, his cock twitching.
“I just want my room back the way it was, Lex,” Clark said, his voice a bit more breathy then before, Lex having stopped right in front of him, inside his personal space.
Their eyes met, Clark’s breath catching as Lex leaned forward, his lips moving closer to his mouth.
“Deal with it, Clark,” Lex whispered, his breaths wafting across Clark’s mouth, the words not making sense to Clark until Lex had pulled away, moving back to his desk, smug smirk on his face.
Growling, Clark left, zipping into his suit when he got back to his room, and flying off to help someone else.
Trying to ignore the dull ache in his heart.
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